Smarten yourself up Janet!

In defining elements of ‘Smart Cities’ Townsend (2013 p.15)) suggests this involves ‘places where information technology is combined with infrastructure, architecture, everyday objects and even our bodies to address social, economic, and environmental problems’. Additionally, local scale is considered important because of the engagement of citizens in identification of problems with more responsive, quicker results.

‘Smart’ management of technologies, which is the basis of ‘smart cities’, occurs electronically in response to data from sensors. In addition to the automated functions triggered by readings, Townsend also refers to interactive elements where people make management choices informed by electronic signage in the physical landscape. The overall view considers the importance of balancing civic management with ‘bottom up’ innovation, in support of environmental sustainability, with new technologically enhanced ways of living.

Creative media in digital format and can involve citizens in the creation of smart cities. Practical innovation is subject to academic analysis in the appraisal of design and impact. This could encourage a different kind of ‘smart’ in terms of learning from historic successes and limitations, and giving the opportunity for citizen ‘hacking’ at the design level.

Creative Media is perhaps therefore, more than other types of media and creative practice separately, suited to the development of smart city futures. Forms rooted in digital methods of creative expression have grown with the development of the technology. Redirection of methods into creative expression, will likely be a productive interface such as described by Sassen(2013), from which innovation towards the goals of efficient, sustainable cities can grow. Direct input from citizens though their use and hacking of designs, products and infrastructure, could inform development in more participatory forms with less risk of obsolescence than is likely through commercial drivers.

Re-work conference panellist Asa Calow is a creative technologist and founder of MadLab. Work is focused on the potential for community innovation through the delivery of creative technology workshops. This is of interest as it appears to offer the possibility of bringing together elements of community involvement which are referred to across the work of the authors referenced here.

The Pararchive, a Madlab open access story-telling project, is particularly interesting and had numerous partners such as the BBC, University of Leeds and individual creatives.

This can be found at:

Pararchive

References

Calow, A
Manchester Digital Laboratory is a not-for-profit grassroots digital innovation organisation
Manchester, UK.
Available at : http://madlab.org.uk/the-team/
accessed 18.2.16

Sassen, S.
Urban Age Electric City: Saskia Sassen – Urbanising technology
available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fyS1H_Zs4po
accessed 14.6.16

Townsend, A. 2013 Smart Cities Big Data, Civic Hackers, and the Quest for a New Utopia
New York: WW Norton

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